


Waves Hit My Head

by superallens



Series: ColdFlash One Shots [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Genghis Khan AU, Kissing, M/M, but nobody dies, there is a lot of talk about death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 03:21:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7874215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superallens/pseuds/superallens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Cold finally captures the Flash, but Len gets a new perspective as to who the man behind the red mask really is.<br/>or<br/>The Genghis Khan AU nobody really asked for</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waves Hit My Head

**Author's Note:**

> this is based off the incredible music video, Genghis Khan by Miike Snow. if you get the chance, i'd watch the video before reading this, but you really don't need to

Barry’s eyes shot open as he felt a bead of cold sweat drip down his face. Labored breaths escaped his lips as he made eye contact with a giant death ray pointing at his face. He gulped as he felt the bead of sweat fall down his neck. His eyes drifted down to his wrists, which were locked securely in restraints tacked to the table. 

“What the,” Barry whispered as he tried to wriggle his hand free. When that didn’t work, he attempted to phase through the restraint, only to discover his powers have been dampened. He sighed as he slumped into the cold metal table.

How did he get here? All Barry could remember was running, faster than he ever had before, and then blackness. 

He had been fighting his arch rival, Captain Cold. Barry normally could beat the man with ease, it was almost second nature to him now. But, Cold had done _something_ to his gun that made everything around Barry turn to ice. Wherever he ran, ice would follow, making his powers nearly useless, making him vulnerable. Cold had gotten the Flash just where he wanted him and Barry refused to let Cold take him down. So he ran. And here he was now, strapped to a cold, metal table with a giant, red ray pointed at his face.

Barry’s head turned towards the room’s entrance when he heard people. He heard people frantically whispering as they rushed to certain positions, their posture straightening before going quiet. Barry heard quiet footsteps echo down the hallway before he saw _him_. Barry scoffed as he turned his head up towards the ceiling once more.

“Well, if it isn’t the Scarlet Speedster,” Cold announced as he walked towards Barry. Barry scowled up at the ceiling.

“Why am I not surprised,” Barry snarled.

“Gonna take off your mask, it’s only me,” Cold said as he placed his hands on Barry’s face. Barry felt his cowl being tugged off as icy hands brushed against his face. His hair flopped onto his forehead and the cowl fell neatly around his face.

“Congratulations, you caught me,” Barry bitterly laughed as his eyes stayed glued to the ray in his line of vision. “I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but you did it.”

“Thanks, _Barry_ ,” Cold said as he walked towards the large console in front of the table Barry was laying on. He began to fidget with some of the controls, moving one to the left, another to the right, and so on until the ray began to glow. “Wonder what the news is gonna say when they find out their savior is dead.”

Barry’s eyes widened as he turned his head towards the other man in the room. “Dead?!”

“You sound surprised. You thought we were going to have a sleepover and share our dirty secrets?” Cold scoffed. “ _Cute_.”

Cold walked back over to the table and pulled up a chair so he was sitting beside the speedster. He let his hand brush the hair away from the younger man’s face, making it so he could really see his face. 

Anybody who saw Barry Allen knew he was beautiful. With bright hazel eyes, small freckles scattering his face, and a smile that could light up the Earth itself; it was hard _not_ to be attracted to the kid. 

“Pity that it has to end like this, you really are a pretty one,” Cold sighed as he pushed the last strand of hair out of Barry’s face. A chill ran down Barry’s spine as Snart let his frosty hand rest on his face. The older man’s hand was placed so his thumb dragged across the speedster’s cheek bone and the rest of his hands rested closer to the area behind Barry’s ear. 

“You don’t have to do this.”

“True. When would I get this opportunity again though? To have you so _vulnerable_ ,” Snart’s voice lowered to a whisper as his thumb stroked Barry’s cheek. “To have you at my mercy. I have complete control of whatever happens here tonight, Scarlet. It’s all up to me.”

Barry gulped as he turned his head away from Snart, his eyes starting to burn. He really must’ve done something shitty in his past life if this was how his life was supposed to turn out. He lost his mom, his dad, he had faced villains beyond imagination- the Reverse-Flash and Zoom- and for what? Just to be killed by some Death ray. 

“If your gonna kill me, just get it over with.” Barry said, his throat tightening. “You got me, theres no point in drawing this out.

Before Cold could say anything, however, the red light above the console started flashing, then the lights went out. The emergency lights emitted a soft glow as Snart pushed the a tray off the table next to Barry.

“Dammit!”

“It’s fine, the power will probably turn back on soon,” Barry said, his voice sounding slightly annoyed. “The emergency power still activates the cuffs. Do they have power dampeners in them?”

Snart glared at Barry before he sat down in his seat next to Barry. Barry couldn’t help but notice that Len looked like a grumpy cat when he was upset. 

“You look like a agitated cat when your brooding,” Barry said, stifling the laugh rising up his throat. Snart shot him a dirty look.

“Shut up.”

The duo sat in awkward silence as Barry laid stiffly on the table and Snart sat draped across the chair. Barry couldn’t help but notice that the older man looked like a GQ model with him sitting on a metal chair with a serious expression on his face. 

“Hey, Snart.”

“What.”

“Do I get a last meal?”

“No.”

Once again, silence.

“Snart.”

“What?”

“Are we just gonna sit here in silence, because if so I might just die before you get the chance to kill me.”

“And people say I’m dramatic.”

“You are, but it works.”

“Compliments will get you no where, kid.”

“I’m not trying to get anywhere. I couldn’t go anywhere even if I wanted to,” Barry replied, his wrists shifting in the cuffs. 

“If you're trying to convince me to take your cuffs off, it isn’t working.”

“I wasn’t trying anything, Sn-”

“If you say my last name one more time, I will freeze you.”

“What do you want me to call you then.”

“Len’s fine.” 

The two fell into another moment of silence. The air around them was thick in tension, making Barry’s skin crawl. If Barry had to imagine his last day, he would never in a million years imagine this. 

Barry’s heart sunk when he realized _this was it_. He was never gonna go to work again, he was never gonna lay in his bed again, he never would talk to his friends or family ever again. Barry shuddered at the thought, wanting this new information to leave his head. He didn’t want any of this to be real. But sadly, it was.

“Len?”

“Barry.”

“Tell me something good.”

“You realize you're asking a robber this, right?”

“Yes, I know,” Barry sighed. “I just- I know these are my last hours and that you probably don’t care about how it ends for me, but I just want my last memories to be light. So please, tell me something that’s made you happy.”

Len’s composure hardened when he head Barry say those words. Don’t get him wrong, he’s had moments of happiness in his life, but nothing that really stood out. Len sighed before letting his posture soften.

“When you’ve lived the life I’ve lived, you learn to not let anything effect you, even if it could effect you for the better. Much like you, Barry, I lost my parents at a young age as well. My mother died when I was a baby and you know what happened with my father.” Len didn’t know why he was opening up to the speedster. Maybe it was the hazel puppy dog eyes staring at him with full interest and attention. Or maybe it was the fact that he realized how fucking lonely his life has gotten, and that opening up to someone who was going to die might actually help in some way, shape, or form.

“Lisa’s mother shortly left after she was born as well. With it just being Lisa and I, I always had to look out not just for myself, but also for her- make sure that she was out of harms way. I wanted her to have the childhood I never got to have, wanted her to be happy and have a good childhood, even if it meant sacrificing my own,” Len paused for a quick moment before casting his eyes downward towards the ring on his pinkie. He fiddled with it, twisting it around his digit. “I shut myself away from emotions so nobody could hurt my mind or my heart like my no good of a father did. I know that you want a happy story about a white picket fence and a smiley family, but that’s far from what my life has been or ever will be. No point in bending the truth to accommodate your wishes.”

Silence brewed between the two as they intensely stared at each other. Barry was the first to speak up.

“I never knew,” Barry whispered, as though if he talked too loud, Len would break. “I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t expect you to,” Len said as he looked upward to face Barry once more. “Don’t apologize for things that are out of your control, kid. This all happened to me before your parents even thought of having you.”

Barry stayed quiet as he casted his eyes downward to the metal table he was laying on. 

“How ‘bout we talk take a walk down memory lane and you tell me about your own memories, since I obviously cannot help you in the happiness department.”

Barry let his face fully rest against the table, his chin bumping into his shoulder. His eyes brightened when he thought of a memory.

“I remember when I was about ten years old, my parents took me to opening night of Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace. The day before the movie came out, we spent all day binge watching the first trilogy. I remember just being so happy to have something that all three of us were interested in. Star Wars quickly became our thing and my love for science fiction and space grew every day from that point on. I remember sitting in between my mom and dad at the movies and just being in awe about how Anakin, who had the potential to be good, turned out to be someone as evil as Darth Vader. I think at one point I hid behind my moms shoulder, but she didn’t mind,” Barry laughed, his eyes filling with joy as he fondly remembered his parents. 

“Right when we left the theater, I made them promise to take me to see the next one,” Barry’s face dropped. “But that promise was never fulfilled. The Reverse-Flash killed my mother ten months later.”

“Oh.” Len felt a pang in his heart for the kid. He had heard all about how his mother was killed, but hearing the kid himself mention it was just heartbreaking.

“Yeah. I ended up with Joe and Iris, though. They welcomed me into the family and Joe raised me like the son he never had at the time. I’m forever thankful for that.”

Len didn’t respond as the two stared at each other. Barry eventually looked back down at the table before speaking up.

“I had the chance to save her.”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah. That’s why we had the singularity last year. The plan was that I would go back and save my mother and the Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne, would go back to the future. Before I got the chance to save her, the version of myself from the future told me not to before he saved the kid version of me. I said goodbye to her and hugged her until she took her last breath. To have your mother die in your arms… theres no feeling like it. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

“Do you regret not saving her?”

“Sometimes. If I saved her though, I wouldn’t have what I have now. I wasn’t ready to let that go at the time, but now it doesn’t really matter. I’m gonna see her and my dad in a little bit.” Barry let out a sad laugh.

“You know, I should probably thank you for this… in some sort of weird twisted way, maybe this is how I can get what I was never able to have, what no other alternate timeline could’ve given me. I can have my family and still have Joe and Iris be to me what they are. I could’ve gone back so many times and saved my mother, but in doing so, I would’ve lost what became my new family. I think this is the only way I can have both- to have lived a life where I have done what I’ve done and be the Flash, but also be with my parents.”

“Being the Flash has been a dream come true. Ever since I was a kid, I just wanted to help people. I would never want anybody to go through what I’ve been through, and the lightning gave me the opportunity to do so. It has been no easy ride, but its one I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

“And maybe now I can finally forgive myself for the deaths I have caused, especially with Ronnie and Eddie. They gave their lives to help me, and now I can thank them for it. I can finally redeem myself and make my wrongs right.”

“Of course you would be optimistic about death.” Suddenly, the power in the room turned back on, the Death ray whirring back to life. 

“Being on your death bed, _literally_ , makes you reflect on pretty much everything,” Barry softly laughed.

“You don’t seem too upset about this. Why?”

“I guess I just know that I’m dying knowing that I was the best person I could be, the best _hero_ I can be. Even if I sorta am dying in vain, I’m dying knowing that I protected this city from so many threats. And just like Eddie and Ronnie, I’m gonna die a hero.”

Barry heard a click of the button and the ray began to hum. He felt his eyes begin to sting as he cleared his throat.

Barry watched as the ray moved closer to him, the red light growing brighter and brighter by the second. Everything was blur, for his eyes were fogged with tears. He felt the cool wetness slip down his face as all fear left him. He accepted that this was it.

Barry thought of his friends and family. He thought about Joe and Iris, Cisco and Caitlin, the people at the precinct. He thought about the new friends he made through being the Flash- especially Team Arrow. He thought about his enemies, he thought about the Rogues. He thought about the people of Central City, and how he hoped that he made a positive impact on their lives. He thought about his adventures as being the Flash- going to parallel universes, meeting Supergirl, visiting the Speed Force, _making a difference_. Barry felt content with all he had done with his life as his tears slipped past the cowl of his suit and down his neck and chest. 

The corner of his mouth quirked before he shakily said, “ _Kadima_.” 

Barry squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for impact. He expected to feel heat tearing through him. He expected to feel something similar to what he felt when he attempted to get his speed back after he gave it to Zoom to rescue Wally. But instead, he felt nothing.

Barry cracked open one eye and looked up at the ray. He watched as the red color slowly faded away and he heard a _click_. He felt the weight on his wrists disappear and a rush of cool air grazing where the restraints once were. 

Confused, Barry sat up, swinging his legs off the table so they were dangling in thin air. His eyebrows scrunched together as he stared at Snart with wet eyes.

“What?”

“Go.”

“But why-”

“Go, before I change my mind,” Snart said, turning away from Barry and setting the remote down on the table next to him. Barry hopped off the table and flashed away. A familiar gust of wind passed Snart when the speedster left the room.

Len sighed as he rested his hands on the cool, metal table. He couldn’t get himself to do it. After everything Barry said about his family, about making a difference… just the look of defeat and acceptance in the younger man’s eyes made Len’s heart wrench. He couldn’t get himself to kill the Flash. He couldn’t get himself to kill _Barry Allen_. The kid deserved to have the opportunity for a better life, even if in that life him and Len would be playing a constant game of catch and chase.

“Boss! The Flash escaped!” one of the guards exclaimed as they ran into the room. Len sighed as he fiddled with the remote in front of him.

“That’s because I let him go. You may leave.” Len listened as he heard the sound of pattering foot steps walk away from him.

Barry stopped when he reached the end of the hallway. He didn’t know why he stopped, he should've kept running and gone home. Joe and everyone at S.T.A.R. Labs were probably worried sick about him, but he couldn’t get himself to keep going. He squeezed his eyes shut before pivoting on his foot and walking back into the room where Len was.

When Len heard footsteps walking back into the room, he groaned. When would the guards finally get the hint that he wanted to be alone? 

Len turned around, ready to tell off the guard, only to see a lean figure in a red suit walking down the steps towards Len. Shocked, Len frowned at Barry.

“I let you go, Barry. What are you doing?”

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing,” Barry stuttered as he walked closer to Len. With each step Barry took forward, Len took back until his thighs bumped into the table Barry was strapped to just moments before. “I couldn't get myself to leave, and I don’t know if this is some weird Stockholm Syndrome sort of thing, but Len…”

Barry cupped Len’s face in his hands and let his thumb drag across the stubble on Len’s jaw. “I always knew there was good in you.”

“I tried to kill you,” Len mumbled as he intensely stared into those beautiful hazel eyes.

“You let me go though. You’ve hurt me far more with your cold gun than by having me locked to a table and engaging in conversation with me,” Barry whispered. “You let me go even though you knew I was okay with it being the end.”

“Couldn’t let you die, Scarlet. There’s more for you to do out there,” Len mumbled as his hand rested on the speedsters hip. “Besides, I don’t feel like breaking out of prison again.”

Barry laughed, his eyes crinkling at the sides. Len’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. Len’s eyes flickered to Barry’s lips. Len felt as one of Barry’s glove clad hands moved to the nape of his neck. Barry slowly leaned in, allowing time in case Len wanted to pull away. He didn’t. He felt soft lips connect with his own before he let out a sigh. 

Kissing Barry was something he never intended on doing. He never meant to feel the sparks of electricity shoot up his arms as he wrapped them around the speedster’s torso. He never meant to know what it felt like to have his lips on his own. He especially never meant to quickly become addicted to the warm touch of Barry Allen. 

Barry’s hand that was still on his cheek traveled back so it was now resting on his back. Len spun them around so Barry was now pressed against the metal table. With the assistance of Len, Barry hopped up onto the table he was once bound to and deepened the kiss. Barry’s leg hooked around Len’s thigh, making it so the older man could move impossibly closer to the speedster. 

Barry’s heart fluttered at a million miles a second. His skin tingled and everything was hot and cold all at once- it was perfect. 

Len eventually was the one to pull away, resting his forehead against Barry’s as his eyes remained shut, enjoying the feeling of the speedster’s thumb rubbing the nape of his neck.

“Wow.”

“I know,” Barry giggled. “You have your moments. Not many of them, but you have them.”

Len opened his eyes and moved his head back ever so slightly so he could look straight at Barry.

“You seriously just quoted Princess Leia in Empire Strikes Back after we made out.”

Barry blushed before a nervous chuckle escaped him. He let his arms disconnect from Len before he slid off the table. Len watched as Barry pulled the cowl back over his face.

“You know it. I’m surprised you knew that.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” 

“Yup,” Barry agreed before slowly backing away. “See ya, Captain Cold.”

And with that, Barry took off faster than Len could blink. A small smirk placed itself on Len’s face before a small laugh escaped his lips.

“Until next time, Scarlet Speedster.”

**Author's Note:**

> the kissing scene was inspired by this beautiful artwork: http://allegoryfake.deviantart.com/art/Peachy-594893267?q=gallery%3AAllegoryFake%2F49295841&qo=2
> 
> let me know what you think in the comments, i love hearing everyones feedback


End file.
